Demi Lovato Is Our August Cover Girl!

On the kind of star she wants to be: "When I look at someone who's out there partying excessively or rappers rapping about doing drugs, who people look up to, and think, Oh that's a G; that's a gangster. I think, You're actually being a giant pussy. Sorry, but those rockers in the '80s were the furthest thing from rock stars. They were so insecure and so lonely that they had to do these things to get them through the day. If you're spending your entire early 20s chasing the next party, what are you running away from? That's not a badass. What's a badass is when you can sit through your problems and feel emotions when you don't want to have them. There have been nights where I've had to sit on my hands, because I want to act out, because I physically can't sit still in the pain I'm dealing with, from looking back and being bullied or other things that happened. And now, as hard as it may be, I will do that. That's what makes me a badass. Being a badass is handling your shit."

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MATT JONES

On her past struggles with bulimia and cutting: "I'm not super religious, but I grew up Christian and I believe in God. When I'm in L.A., I don't talk about it that much because people are very judgmental, but I just feel like God gave me a voice, not just to sing with. He put me through those things, which seemed horrible at the time, but they were so worth it. With the obstacles I've overcome, I can help people."

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On the lyrics from her song "Warrior" when she sings, "There's a part of me I can't get back/A little girl grew up too fast/All it took was once, I'll never be the same/Now I'm taking back my life today": "My family knows what it's about. When I'm ready to open up that subject with the outside world, then I'll be free to talk about it. But right now, it's kind of one of those things where the lyrics speak for me. It's all in the song."

On her upcoming 21st birthday: "I look at birthdays as celebrating another year of life. You've made it another year. An entire year. Some people don't make it to 21."

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MATT JONES

On her first gig at age seven on Barney & Friends and singing the theme song: "At the time, I was just so grateful to be on TV, but I was also really struggling. Looking back, there was a connection, probably between any kid who's ever sang that song to Barney, a little place in a child's heart, a void, that could be filled. And maybe Barney fills it. Even before Barney, I was suicidal. I was seven. With Barney, I guess subliminally, I did have a relationship with this figure that was saving my life in a way… I've talked about being bullied and the years of being a teenager, but I went through things when I was younger that I've never talked about that probably caused me to turn out the way I ended up turning out."

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For more of Demi's exclusive interview with Cosmopolitan pick up the new issue on newsstands July 9.

BONUS: Did you know you can get your monthly issue of Cosmo on your e-reader? It's the same issue you'd buy on the newsstand, but you can flip through it with the touch of your finger. Touch your device below to download. You'll be reading your favorite magazine in just minutes.

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